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→Metaphorical
:In both of these citations, the meaning is closer to "the greasy pole...." The current sense... probably surfaced in the early 20th century, possibly in an article by a writer in a 1909 Quarterly Review, published in London: "the first step down that ''slippery slope'' at the bottom of which lies a parliamentary government."
:In both of these citations, the meaning is closer to "the greasy pole...." The current sense... probably surfaced in the early 20th century, possibly in an article by a writer in a 1909 Quarterly Review, published in London: "the first step down that ''slippery slope'' at the bottom of which lies a parliamentary government."
::—William Safire, 2002<ref>Safire, William, "On Language: A phrase that is the thin edge of a wedge." ''The New York Times, April 2002, p. E24. Safire himself was the author of a political essay that appeared in the Times April 23, 1981, p. A23, with the title ''Down the Slippery Slope.</ref>
::—William Safire, 2002<ref>Safire, William, "On Language: A phrase that is the thin edge of a wedge." ''The New York Times, April 2002, p. E24. Safire himself was the author of a political essay that appeared in the Times April 23, 1981, p. A23, with the title ''Down the Slippery Slope.</ref>
==Variants==
The modern phrase in a political or social context is usually an unadorned ''slippery slope.'' The phrase "slippery slope to perdition" is also seen. In a contemporary setting the usage is usually ironic, as in a recent book on programming<ref>O'Farrell, Anthony Gilbert (2005), ''Introduction to Maple Programming,'' [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0954426940&id=a6uuImAJBF4C&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=%22slippery+slope+to+perdition%22&num=100&sig=ZaqfaLy1hEVBih-K8jVic8UOjHo p. 56]</ref>
:A parser that writes code, even if the code is only an occasional semicolon, seems like the beginning of a slippery slope to perdition. Pretty soon the Maple interface will behave like the Evil Empire's flagship word-processor, which tries to write for its unfortunate users.
==See also==
==See also==